


She Could Do Better

by loveabove



Series: You Could Do Better [2]
Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 12:13:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11081349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveabove/pseuds/loveabove
Summary: “She could do better.”Those words rang in his head every time he heard them. He could often hear the other students whispering behind their backs as he and his Antoinette made their way to class.





	She Could Do Better

“She could do better.”

Those words rang in his head every time he heard them. He could often hear the other students whispering behind their backs as he and his Antoinette made their way to class.

He knew she could too.

It baffled him every day. Antoinette was the school’s sweetheart. No one understood why they were dating. They would whisper about it. They would go and tell her whenever the two were separated for any period of time. Ivar hated it. The thought of Antoinette believing it stayed in the back of his mind.

There wasn’t a day that he didn’t think about it. Antoinette would eventually realize she could do better. She would leave him for someone more… complete. More capable of protecting her and loving her. It got to him.

That was something his older brother, Sigurd, liked to throw in his face every chance he got. Whether it was at home or at school, Sigurd would taunt him. “She could do better,” he’d snidely comment, “everyone knows that.”

Ubbe, the kindest of all the Ragnarssons, would try to stop it. He always knew that eventually Sigurd’s comments would send Ivar into one of his rages. Tantrums, really, not that Ivar would ever admit to it being one. Hvitserk would generally ignore it, only stepping in when he felt he had to. Even so, Ivar doubted that they would ever be able to honestly tell him that Sigurd was wrong.

“She really could do better.”

Perhaps his mother, with all of her doting ways, would be able to tell him Sigurd was wrong and mean it. While she didn’t hate Antoinette, she didn’t think any girl was good enough for her sons. It was part motherly love, part ambition, and part ire at the girl Ubbe had once been with who had gotten pregnant with someone else’s child in the months that Ubbe had been learning the family business from their father and eldest brother Bjorn out of state. And no mother wanted her children to face such things, even ones that could have done more for them growing up if her own self-hate and blame hadn’t stopped her from giving them more love.

But it was nights like this when it really hit him. Even with her in his arms, content to simply be at his side, Sigurd’s words stayed with him.

It had been another night of pain for him. Pain not often staved off by his medication when it was at its most intense. Regardless, His Antoinette had been there, ignoring his rather feeble attempts to make her leave. That’s was why they were laying together in his bed now, his left arm around her waist.

He certainly loved Antoinette. He knew that to be true but couldn’t quite bring himself to tell her that. There would certainly come a time when she would realize how much better she could do.

“You could do better,” he found himself saying, “Why are you still with me?”

He tensed. Maybe she really would admit she could do better. Maybe she really would leave him. He kept his eyes on the ceiling.

“I don’t think I can.”

And for that, he was glad.

**Author's Note:**

> A companion piece for "You Could Do Better". This time we focus on Ivar. I think there will definitely be more about them in other situations, I just need to figure out what situations to throw them into.


End file.
